Training Africa's Next Generation of Genomic Scientists to Predict Disease Risk.
But for Africa, there's a challenge: many of the genetic tools used to predict disease risk have been built using data from European populations, making them far less accurate for African communities.
Can your DNA reveal your risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or even certain mental health conditions?
Increasingly, scientists believe it can. But for Africa, there's a challenge: many of the genetic tools used to predict disease risk have been built using data from European populations, making them far less accurate for African communities.
That challenge brought more than 40 early-career scientists, geneticists, and bioinformaticians from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and beyond to the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University for the Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) Analysis Course 2025, organised by the African Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data-Intensive Sciences (ACE-Uganda).
Held from 23–27 June 2025, the intensive five-day course equipped researchers with the practical skills needed to analyse and interpret polygenic risk scores—an emerging tool that combines the effects of thousands of genetic variants to estimate an individual's likelihood of developing complex diseases.
Unlike inherited disorders caused by a single faulty gene, conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and schizophrenia are influenced by many genes interacting with environmental and lifestyle factors. Polygenic risk scores bring these small genetic contributions together, helping researchers identify people who may be at higher risk long before symptoms appear.
Around the world, these tools are increasingly being explored to support earlier diagnosis, disease prevention, and personalised healthcare. However, their effectiveness depends on one critical factor: whose DNA was used to develop them.
Today, more than 90% of genome-wide association studies have been conducted using people of European ancestry. As a result, polygenic risk scores often perform well in European populations but lose much of their predictive power when applied to African populations, whose genetic diversity is far greater.
Addressing that gap was one of the central themes of the course.
Participants explored why genetic differences between populations affect disease prediction and learned approaches to improve the accuracy of polygenic risk scores for African populations. Through lectures, hands-on computational sessions, and discussions, they gained practical experience working with genomic datasets while exploring how these tools can be adapted to better serve the continent.
The training also highlighted why this work matters beyond the laboratory. Africa is experiencing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease while continuing to respond to infectious diseases including HIV. More accurate genetic prediction tools could one day help clinicians identify individuals at higher risk, guide prevention strategies, and contribute to more personalised healthcare.
By investing in training, ACE-Uganda is helping ensure that African researchers are not simply applying genetic tools developed elsewhere but are contributing to the science that makes those tools more accurate and relevant for African populations.
As genomic medicine continues to evolve, initiatives like the PRS Analysis Course are building the expertise needed to ensure Africa has a voice in shaping the future of precision medicine.
For the scientists who gathered in Kampala, the course offered more than new analytical skills. It was an opportunity to join a growing community of researchers working to make genomic research more inclusive ensuring that the benefits of precision medicine reach every population, not just those that have historically been the focus of genetic research.